A dog almost lost its leg after stepping onto broken glass bottles on a popular walk on the coast.

Lisa Amer, from Gorleston, was walking her pair of schnauzer cross siblings, Dude and Bella, on the town's old railway path on Sunday (June 13).

She said: "We walk everywhere locally, twice a day, Southtown Common, Bluebell Woods, the beach.

%image(14443439, type="article-full", alt="Dude and Bella, a pair of Schnauzer cross dogs, enjoy chasing each other on their walks around Gorleston.")

"That morning we happened to go to the old railway line.

"We were really so unlucky."

She said the dogs were very good off their leads and enjoyed running off and chasing each other.

"But at the bottom of the slope, coming back toward Victoria Road, I heard a clunk."

%image(14443440, type="article-full", alt="Dude's leg was "ripped open" after he stepped on broken glass while playing on Gorleston's old railway path.")

The dogs had run into the grass next to the track.

"At first I thought it was a tin but then they shot out and they sat there at my feet.

"Dude was in a complete state, it was horrible. His leg was ripped right open. All I could do was pull the skin back up, to stem the bleeding."

Bella was also injured but not as badly.

Ms Amer, who volunteers with Gorleston lifeboat, called her friends at the local RNLI and the deputy head, who is also a paramedic, arrived and put a dressing on Dude, before they took him to a vet.

Ms Amer said: "At one point we thought he might have to lose his leg, which didn't bear thinking about."

She later returned to check the scene of the injury and found broken glass bottles.

%image(14443441, type="article-full", alt="Broken glass bottles found on Gorleston's old railway path.")

"It's just the carelessness of it," she said. "If you want to do that, just put it in the bin.

"I think whoever you are, if you knew the impact of that mindless moment, hopefully now you'd think again."

Fortunately, Dude is now recovering, while Ms Amer is facing a £1,200 vet bill.

"Dude is not out of the woods yet, there is still the possibility of skin loss, and he'll definitely get arthritis in that leg," she said.